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Zoro had never trusted easy. All his life he had been wary of people, of what their true intentions were. He learned at a young age that people were rarely honest about things and that everyone had their own agenda. It became easier to be alone than to try and figure people out, to enjoy his solitude rather than the risk a friend could be.
Luffy was the first in a long, long time that he had trusted. He wasn’t even sure why but something inside him trusted Luffy the second they met, as if his mind and heart already knew what their future held. He knew he was safe with Luffy, that he would never have to worry about being betrayed. It made him uncomfortable for a long time, trying to understand this emotion in regards to the strange boy in the straw hat. But eventually he gave in to it, let his trust rest solidly inside him and build a bridge into Luffy. It probably was around the same time he realized he was in love to be honest.
The rest of the crew earned his trust as they adventured together, the little things adding up until he knew they would be okay. Some were quicker than others, though none had been as quick as Luffy had. Perhaps the trust Zoro put into the crew was helped along by his captain, his own unwavering belief in them pulling Zoro along.
The only person Zoro held out on for a long time had been Robin, the older woman a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Perhaps it was because she had been their enemy upon their first meeting or perhaps it was the subtle refusal to fully be one with the crew, but there was something there that made Zoro keep her at arm’s length for a long time. Sure that length had shortened the longer they spent together—and no matter how he privately felt she was part of their crew now and he would treat her as such—but there was always something there that held him back, something that kept him from fully trusting her.
Perhaps that was why he was the only one not shocked by her apparent betrayal. She had told them when they met she was an assassin by trade, it really wasn’t a stretch to imagine her taking it up again. Though he did have to admit the apparent secret government agents were throwing him off. Zoro didn’t understand how they factored in to all this. Nor did he understand how Robin could look into the faces of their wrecked crew, see their tears and concern, and say it didn’t matter to her, that she was never part of their crew. He wasn’t Luffy who saw the good in everyone but even Zoro could tell there was something more to this betrayal, something more she wasn’t telling them.
So when Luffy declared they would go after her, the World Government and the Marines be damned because she was part of their crew, Zoro just said okay. Whether she was truly betraying them or not, Zoro at least wanted to see the truth in her face when she spoke. For the entire time he’d known her she hid behind a mask and it was past time that she let them see what was beneath. Not to mention, she reminded him a lot of Nami in ways, of her early days before she fully joined the crew, back when she was still under Arlong’s thumb. No matter how in their corner she seemed or how deep their late night talks, he had always known there was something holding her back. A lot like how he had always felt something was holding Robin back.
But of all the fucking people that came to help—and he’s not including the weird rope guy or even the fucking Franky family in this—why in the goddamn world did it have to be Usopp? And not even as himself! The man was too much of a coward to admit he was wrong, that he had fucked up. He came wearing a mask and a cape, as if it hid who he was and why he was there.
And of course Luffy believed him because why wouldn’t he? Well, okay, Zoro wasn’t sure how much he actually believed because yeah he could be an idiot but he wasn’t stupid and he was a lot more observant than people gave him credit for. So did he actually know who this “Sniper King” was and was just playing along? Who knows. But he let Usopp in regardless, trusting their renegade crew mate to help another renegade crew mate. That was all that mattered to Luffy in the end anyway.
Regardless of who they were or what had happened before, they fought like the crew they had always been to get to Robin. They relied on one another where needed and leveled marine after marine by themselves when they needed to. Because no matter how they felt, Robin was their nakama and nakama always helped each other—even when they didn’t want it.
Though the second they saw her, standing across that chasm while she begged for them to leave, Zoro knew he’d been right. There was something more at play and her betrayal hadn’t been voluntary. And he knew Luffy saw it too, his dark eyes hardening as he stared back at her, telling her to tell him what she really wanted. She didn’t want them to leave. She didn’t want them to forget about her. And she damn sure didn’t want to die.
She wanted to live.
So Luffy ordered the base flag burned down, uncaring of the message it sent and the fact that he was openly declaring his defiance of the World Government. All he cared about was his crew and getting them back.
And they did. Marine hoards, devil fruit users, and buster calls aside, they did just as they came to do. They stopped the government from taking Robin away, from leaving her in a cell to die. They stopped Franky from being made a pawn in a scheme of world-ending weapons. And they avenged the weird Ice-guy’s failed assassination which wasn’t what Zoro set out to do but sure. And if Usopp picked up his courage and found his strength, than perhaps that was just another success.
Didn't mean Zoro still didn't kind of definitely very much want to punch him in the face for making their crew cry—for making Luffy cry. But he’d save that for another day. For a day when they hadn’t all just barely survived and a day when they didn’t have to say goodbye to a friend. For when embers and ashes didn't float over the ocean breeze and when more tears weren’t being shed.
“Did you hear Franky’s gonna make us a new ship?” Luffy asked Zoro for what had to be the millionth time, as if he had somehow missed all those other times. “He said it’s gonna be the best ship in the world! It’s gonna be even better than what the last Pirate King sailed on!”
”So he said,” Zoro said with a smile, the same he did every time Luffy asked. Their new ship could never replace Merry, the little ship that had brought them so far. But they had been promised that it would be a deadly beauty in her own regard and that it would be able to carry them to the end of the Grand Line and beyond, past when even all their dreams had been fulfilled. It would be a home they never had to leave, a home that would never leave them.
”I can’t wait!” Luffy continued eagerly. “Franky said he’s gonna make us our own room too! Mostly cause Sanji told him to so that he would no longer have to risk walking in on us fucking.”
And Zoro was back to wishing they’d left that shitty cook back at that base. Sure he might say he liked all his crew but that damn fucking bastard was the root of all his goddamn problems. It would have been good riddance if they’d—
“And it’ll have an actual look out tower for watches and a bigger kitchen and a better filtration system for baths and—” Luffy paused to suck in a huge breath “—and the dormitories will be bigger and he said they’re gonna put in all sorts of cool stuff!”
Zoro had also heard all of this at least a hundred times before. “It’ll be exciting, captain.”
Luffy nodded, nearly bouncing in place from where he was sat on the bed. He was, technically, supposed to be resting still but Chopper was rapidly giving up on that, especially after the wild party they’d thrown. Luffy was awake and eating which was close enough to healed in Zoro’s book. He wasn’t sure why it wasn’t to their doctor.
A frown suddenly filled Luffy’s face, his bouncing freezing. “Has, um....has anyone heard from Usopp?”
”No.”
After returning to Water 7 he—or his apparent alter ego Sniper King—had disappeared. No one had heard a single word from him in all the days they’d been stuck on the island, his whereabouts completely unknown. Not for lack of trying—though none would admit it. Zoro knew Sanji, Nami, and Chopper had gone looking for him and he was pretty sure Robin had too. Though in Robin’s case she probably did know where he was, she was clever like that.
”I hope he comes back before we leave,” Luffy continued with a deepening frown. He fell sideways until he was resting in Zoro’s lap, head tilted to look up at him. “I miss having him around.”
”He hasn’t apologized, captain.”
”Yeah but....it’s Usopp. You know how he is.”
That was the problem. Zoro did know what Usopp was like. He was a coward and a liar who might occasionally be brave but he was also a man who constantly pushed himself as the decision maker despite not being so. He routinely challenged Luffy’s decisions and often tried to make his own. Not to mention the number of times he’d introduced himself as captain to others.
Sure he had his moments, where he would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them as they faced down enemies, even as his legs shook and his knees knocked. He would be scared out of his mind but he wouldn’t back down, using manipulation and surprising mental strength to overcome his obstacles. Zoro would never say but, in all honesty, he did think Usopp was one of the bravest men he knew. Not because he was particularly brave or anything. But because no matter how strong the enemy they faced or how terrified he was, he had never backed down. No matter the wounds and injuries or even his own damn pride, he would still do what needed to be done.
”He needs to apologize,” Zoro said, skipping over all his other thoughts. “You can’t let him return before he does.”
Luffy pouted up at him, a finger poking roughly into Zoro’s side. “But—”
”He disrespected you, Luf. No matter how you want to look at it, he disrespected your authority and challenged it.”
”But—”
”There aren’t any ‘buts’ to it, Luffy. I know you like to act happy and carefree but that kind of disrespect cannot be tolerated in a crew. It doesn’t matter if he comes through or even that he just comes back, he has to acknowledge that he was wrong and he has to apologize.”
Dark eyes stared at Zoro’s own for a long time before they finally blinked. “But what if he doesn’t?” The words were quiet, soft enough to be lost to the world around them. But Zoro heard them. And he heard the pain in them.
”It’s his choice, captain,” he told him, running fingers through Luffy’s hair. “But if he’s man enough then he will. He’ll acknowledge that he was wrong and disrespectful and promise to not do it again. All things aside, if he’s a brave man at heart, he can do that.”
”I don’t....I don’t get why he has to, though. Why can’t he just come back? We all want him back and—”
”Being a captain is hard,” Zoro interrupted, continuing to stroke fingers through his soft hair. “You have to make the hard decisions. That’s what separates you from us. We can give you advice and add our input but ultimately it’s your decision—and we all have to respect that even if it’s something we don’t like. That’s what being part of a crew means. Following your captain wherever they lead. But if someone doesn’t do that, if someone challenges those decisions after they’re made, it makes the crew weak. It shows that they don’t trust their captain and if a crew can’t trust their captain—and a captain their crew—then they won’t survive. Usopp right now is the one challenging you. He has been for awhile, actually, but this time it just got big enough for everyone to see it. All that resulted in him leaving because of that challenge and that disrespect. So if he wants to come back, he needs to not only own up to what he did but apologize for it. If you let him back without doing that, then you’re showing that disrespect of you and your authority is allowed. And if it’s allowed it’s going to happen again and again until the crew either breaks apart because of it or dies.”
Luffy’s brows furrowed as he thought, dark eyes narrowing. “It could....it could endanger the crew?”
“It could. I know so far it has seemed inconsequential but that doesn’t mean it always will be. Not to mention everything else that could open us up to. Arguing decisions when we don’t have the time can put us at risk. You second guessing yourself because of it could put us at risk. Someone not following your order because they don’t agree could put us at risk. There’s a lot of ways it could go and none of them are good.”
”So-so for the good of the crew, he needs to apologize? So that we can all be....all trust each other again?”
”Yeah. I know it’s hard but it’s for the best, Luffy. And if Usopp can’t do that, then we’re going to have to sail on without him.”
The rest of the crew returned before Luffy could respond, his face still contemplative as he thought about Zoro’s words. Zoro just hoped he’d listen to them. And that Usopp was as brave as he thought he was.
Their last days on Water 7 passed in a blur of gathering supplies, dealing with Luffy’s family—seriously what the fuck was up with Luffy and not telling them about his fucking family—and getting ready to leave. So much was going on that even the information on who Luffy’s father and grandfather were was just tucked away to be dealt with at another time. Preferably when they were out at sea and well away from either of them. Seriously what the fuck was with these people?
The day they left dawned bright, the early morning rays of the sun casting a halo across the gleaming boards of their new ship as it was revealed to them. A proud figurehead—with room for Luffy to sit upon—graced the bow of the ship and her masts rose proudly and tall into the air, sails bearing their mark filling with the breeze. She was absolutely beautiful. Twice as big as Merry had been and armed to the teeth. She was perfect.
And Luffy finally got the shipwright he’d been after, even if it involved a mad, naked dash through the streets of Water 7 and hands grabbing unmentionable places. They all knew Franky would join anyway. It was just a matter of getting him there to ask. Though privately Zoro thought the tactics they used could have been....nicer.
Not that they got to rejoice in their new crew mate for long. Luffy’s lunatic of a grandfather was back to try and arrest them and now he was throwing fucking cannonballs with his bare hands and they all scrambled to set sail. The tension on the ship was thick enough Zoro could have sliced it with one of his swords. No one had an eye on the horizon, every pair turned back to the shores rapidly falling behind them and searching for one person, the one crew member not onboard.
Just as Zoro was beginning to think that perhaps he’d overestimated Usopp’s bravery they heard him, his voice calling out from the shore. At first it was his usual chatter, saying he’ll come back because they clearly need him and that he’ll grace them with his presence. But when no one moved it seemed to finally set in, desperation ringing through his shouting voice. He admitted to being Sniper King, to having returned undercover because the crew needed him and he couldn’t abandon them. But it still wasn’t what they needed to hear.
Finally, just as his voice was almost lost on the wind and the Marine ship was closing in, he apologized. Those words screamed out so that all of them could hear and know it was sincere.
And within seconds he was back on deck, sprawling out across the wooden planks as Luffy’s rubbery arm remained wrapped around him, joyous laughter ringing out in the air and covering the cacophony of cannonballs hitting the water around them.
And just like that, their crew was finally whole again.